Game processing program, game processing method, and game processing device

ABSTRACT

A game processing device controls a first mounted display worn by a first player to display a virtual space in association with a first virtual position in the virtual space, and controls a second mounted display worn by a second player to display the virtual space in association with a second virtual position in the virtual space. The device also determines a position of the first player in a real space based on an output of a first sensor, moves the first virtual position in accordance with the position of the first player, determines a position of the second player in the real space based on an output of a second sensor, and moves the second virtual position in accordance with the position of the second player. The device produces a game special effect when a distance between the first and second virtual positions is within a predetermined range.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 toJapanese Application No. 2017-190640 filed Sep. 29, 2017, the entirecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a game processing program, a gameprocessing method, and a game processing device for processing a game inwhich multiple players share a virtual space.

In conventional virtual reality games (hereinafter referred to as VRgames), a mounted display wearable on the head of the player(hereinafter referred to as head-mounted display (HMD)) is used. The HMDincludes a tracking sensor such as a gyro sensor and can detect motionof the head of the player based on an output of the tracking sensor. TheHMD includes a display that displays an image of the virtual space in aviewpoint that changes in accordance with the detected motion of thehead. This allows the player to play the game as if the player exists inthe virtual space.

In the technical field of presenting the user with the virtual space,sharing of a single virtual space between multiple users has also beenproposed. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 10-154243 describesan example of a system in which an avatar corresponding to each user isarranged in a single virtual space and the users share the singlevirtual space through their client terminals connected to the internet.

The virtual space of a VR game using an HMD is shared when, for example,each player wearing the HMD participates in the same game. When thecooperation of the players in the virtual space is reflected on theaccomplishment of an objective of each player in the game, the ingenuityof the game increases as compared to a VR game played by a singleplayer. This enables the user to be highly interested in the game andconsequently increases the number of users who participate in the game.

SUMMARY

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a game processingprogram, a game processing method, and a game processing device that, ina virtual reality game played by multiple players wearing displays,allow multiple players to cooperate in playing the game.

To achieve the above object, one aspect of the present disclosureprovides a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a programthat processes a game. The program, when executed by circuitry, causesthe circuitry to control a first mounted display worn by a first playerto display a virtual space in association with a first virtual positionin the virtual space, control a second mounted display worn by a secondplayer to display the virtual space in association with a second virtualposition in the virtual space, determine a position of the first playerin a real space based on an output of a first sensor, move the firstvirtual position in accordance with the position of the first player,determine a position of the second player in the real space based on anoutput of a second sensor, move the second virtual position inaccordance with the position of the second player, and when a conditionis satisfied, produce a special effect in the game. The conditionincludes a condition in which a distance between the first virtualposition and the second virtual position is within a predeterminedrange.

Another aspect provides a method for processing a game. The methodincludes controlling, by circuitry, a first mounted display worn by afirst player to display a virtual space in association with a firstvirtual position in the virtual space, controlling, by the circuitry, asecond mounted display worn by a second player to display the virtualspace in association with a second virtual position in the virtualspace, determining, by the circuitry, a position of the first player ina real space based on an output of a first sensor, moving, by thecircuitry, the first virtual position in accordance with the position ofthe first player, determining, by the circuitry, a position of thesecond player in the real space based on an output of a second sensor,moving, by the circuitry, the second virtual position in accordance withthe position of the second player, and when a condition is satisfied,producing, by the circuitry, a special effect in the game. The conditionincludes a condition in which a distance between the first virtualposition and the second virtual position is within a predeterminedrange.

A further aspect provides a device for processing a game. The deviceincludes circuitry. The circuitry is configured to control a firstmounted display worn by a first player to display a virtual space inassociation with a first virtual position in the virtual space, controla second mounted display worn by a second player to display the virtualspace in association with a second virtual position in the virtualspace, determine a position of the first player in a real space based onan output of a first sensor, move the first virtual position inaccordance with the position of the first player, determine a positionof the second player in the real space based on an output of a secondsensor, move the second virtual position in accordance with the positionof the second player, and when a condition is satisfied, produce aspecial effect in the game. The condition includes a condition in whicha distance between the first virtual position and the second virtualposition is within a predetermined range.

Other aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will becomeapparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles ofthe present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure, together with objects and advantages thereof,may best be understood by reference to the following description of thepresently preferred embodiments together with the accompanying drawingsin which:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram illustrating the devices of asystem that executes a game processing method according to exemplaryaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the layout of the devicesof the system of FIG. 1 in a real space according to exemplary aspectsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a virtual space and an imageviewed by the player in the system of FIG. 1 according to exemplaryaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an image of the virtual spacedisplayed on a public display in the system of FIG. 1 according toexemplary aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting of an initialposition of a virtual point in the virtual space of FIG. 3 according toexemplary aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a sequence chart illustrating the flow of processes forsetting an avatar in the system of FIG. 1 according to exemplary aspectsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of setting of a movementpermission region in the virtual space of FIG. 3 according to exemplaryaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a region indicator in thevirtual space of FIG. 3 according to exemplary aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 9 is an algorithmic flowchart illustrating the flow of processesfor switching the region indicator between a displayed state and anon-displayed state in the system of FIG. 1 according to exemplaryaspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a view of the virtualspace when a normal attack is being performed in the system of FIG. 1according to exemplary aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a table illustrating an example of data included in gameprogress data in the system of FIG. 1, in which the data includesplayer-related information according to exemplary aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a view of the virtualspace when a simultaneous attack is being performed in the system ofFIG. 1 according to exemplary aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a range indicator in thesystem of FIG. 1 according to exemplary aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 14 is an algorithmic flowchart illustrating the flow of processesfor performing a combination attack in the system of FIG. 1 according toexemplary aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a view of the virtualspace when the combination attack is being performed in the system ofFIG. 1 according to exemplary aspects of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of operation of players anda view of the virtual space when the combination attack is beingperformed in accordance with exemplary aspects of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 17 is a sequence chart illustrating the flow of processes after thegame ends in the system of FIG. 1 according to exemplary aspects of thepresent disclosure; and

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating the hardware configuration of the gameprocessing device of FIG. 1 according to exemplary aspects of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A game processing program, a game processing method, and a gameprocessing device according to exemplary aspects of the presentdisclosure will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 18.

[Overall Configuration of Game System]

The overall configuration of a game system using an exemplary gameprocessing method of the present disclosure will now be described withreference to FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the game system includes a gameprocessing device 10, a head-mounted display (hereinafter referred to asHMD) 20 serving as a mounted display, an operation device 30, and atracking assist device 40. Further, the game system includes a publicdisplay 50 and an assist terminal 60.

The game processing device 10 and the HMD 20 communicate with each otherin a wired or wireless manner. The player wears the HMD 20 on his or herhead to operate the operation device 30. The game processing device 10controls the HMD 20 so as to display a virtual space in a viewpointcorresponding to the direction and orientation of the HMD 20 and managesthe progress of the game in the virtual space based on the informationdetected with the HMD 20 and the operation device 30.

One HMD 20 is associated with one operation device 30. The game systemincludes multiple sets of HMDs 20 and operation devices 30. An HMD 20and an operation device 30 associated with the HMD 20 are used by thesame player. In the present embodiment, the game system includes an HMD20A and an operation device 30A, which are used by a first player, andan HMD 20B and an operation device 30B, which are used by a secondplayer. The HMD 20A is one example of a first mounted display, and theoperation device 30A is one example of a first operation device. The HMD20B is one example of a second mounted display, and the operation device30B is one example of a second operation device.

The HMD 20 includes an information processor 21, a tracking informationdetector 22, and a display 23. The information processor 21 includes,for example, a processor, a memory, and a communication interface. Theinformation processor 21 outputs, to the game processing device 10, asignal corresponding to a detection result of the tracking informationdetector 22. Further, the information processor 21 receives an input ofa signal representing image information or the like from the gameprocessing device 10 to control the display 23 so as to display an imageof the virtual space based on the input signal.

The tracking information detector 22 includes a device for calculatingthe position and orientation of the HMD 20, i.e., the position andorientation of the head of the player. For example, the trackinginformation detector 22 includes a sensor that detects information usedmainly to calculate the orientation of the HMD 20. Such a sensorincludes, for example, at least one of a gyro sensor, an accelerationsensor, and a geomagnetic sensor. These sensors can also be used tocalculate the position of the HMD 20. Further, in addition to or insteadof the above sensors, the tracking information detector 22 may include asensor that directly detects the eye motion of the player, for example,a sightline detection sensor that emits near-infrared light to an irisand detects its reflected light.

Additionally, the tracking information detector 22 includes, forexample, a position detection device that detects information usedmainly to calculate the position of the HMD 20. More specifically, theposition detection device can detect information used to calculate theposition of the HMD 20 by cooperating with the tracking assist device40, which is arranged separately from the HMD 20 in a real space wherethe player is located. The position detection device and the trackingassist device 40 may also be used to calculate the orientation of theHMD 20 in addition to the position of the HMD 20. For example, one ofthe position detection device and the tracking assist device 40 is alight-emitting device such as a laser device or LED that emits infraredlight or visible light, and the other one is a light-receiving devicesuch as a camera that receives light corresponding to the light-emittingdevice. The position and orientation of the HMD 20 are calculated basedon the information obtained by using the light-emitting device and thelight-receiving device. Such information includes, for example, fromwhich one of multiple light-emitting devices arranged in a predeterminedmanner the light-receiving device receives light, which one of multiplelight-receiving devices arranged in a predetermined manner receiveslight from the light-emitting device, the direction in which light isemitted from the light-emitting device, and the time for the lightemitted from the light-emitting device to reach the light-receivingdevice. When the tracking assist device 40 is a light-receiving deviceor when the tracking assist device 40 is a light-emitting device and thelight emission is controlled by the game processing device 10, thetracking assist device 40 simply needs to be capable of communicatingdirectly with the game processing device 10 or via the HMD 20.

Instead of using the tracking assist device 40 arranged outside the HMD20, only a detection result of the tracking information detector 22 ofthe HMD 20 may be used to be capable of calculating the position andorientation of the HMD 20. The position of the HMD 20 calculated fromthe detection result of the tracking information detector 22 may be arelative position with respect to the initial position of the HMD 20 oran absolute position in a real space, i.e., in a three-dimensional spacehaving a predetermined size where the player playing the game islocated.

The display 23 displays an image based on a signal from the informationprocessor 21. The display 23 includes, for example, one or more displaypanels. In accordance with the layout of the display panel, the display23 displays an image in which the influence of parallax or the like istaken into account. The display 23 may be a retinal projection displaysystem.

The operation device 30 is configured to communicate with the HMD 20associated with the operation device 30 in a wired or wireless manner.The player carries the operation device by having the operation device30 with the hand or by wearing the operation device 30 on the hand orarm.

The operation device 30 includes an information processor 31, a trackinginformation detector 32, and an operation interface 33. The informationprocessor 31 may include, for example, a processor, a memory, and acommunication interface, or any other circuit that can performprocessing such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), discretelogic circuits, and the like. The information processor 31 outputs, tothe HMD 20, a signal corresponding to a detection result of the trackinginformation detector 32 and a signal corresponding to operationperformed on the operation interface 33. The HMD 20 outputs, to the gameprocessing device 10, a signal corresponding to the signal input fromthe operation device 30.

The tracking information detector 32 includes a device that detectsinformation used to calculate the position and orientation of theoperation device 30. The position of the operation device 30 correspondsto the position of the hand of the player. The tracking informationdetector 32 includes, for example, at least one of a gyro sensor, anacceleration sensor, and a geomagnetic sensor. Additionally, thetracking information detector 32 may include a device that can detectthe information used to calculate the position and orientation of theoperation device 30 by cooperating with the tracking assist device 40.

The position of the operation device 30 calculated from the detectionresult of the tracking information detector 32 may be a relativeposition with respect to the initial position of the operation device30, a relative position with respect to the position of the HMD 20associated with the operation device 30, or an absolute position in thereal space.

The operation interface 33 includes, for example, a button or leverpushed by the player to be operated and is configured to be operablewithout being visually recognized by the player.

The operation device 30 may communicate with the game processing device10 directly, not via the HMD 20, and output, to the game processingdevice 10, a signal corresponding to the detection result of thetracking information detector 22 and a signal corresponding to operationperformed on the operation interface 33. In this case, the associationof the HMD 20 with the operation device 30 simply needs to be managedby, for example, storing the association of identification informationof the HMD 20 with identification information of the operation device 30in the game processing device 10.

The public display 50 is a display viewed by users other than the playerparticipating in the game, i.e., users who are not wearing the HMD 20such as users waiting for the order of participating in the game andusers watching the game in the surroundings. The public display 50 is,for example, a large display arranged near the region of the real spacewhere the player participating in the game is located. The publicdisplay 50 communicates with the game processing device 10 in a wired orwireless manner, receives an input of image information from the gameprocessing device 10, and displays an image of the virtual space basedon the image information.

The assist terminal 60 is a terminal having a photographing function anda displaying function and communicating with the game processing device10 in a wired or wireless manner. For example, the assist terminal 60 isembodied in a tablet terminal. The assist terminal 60 is used to providethe player with information and to perform setting necessary for theplayer to participate in the game before and after playing the game.More specifically, the assist terminal 60 is used to set an avatar foreach player.

The game processing device 10 includes a game controller 11 and a datamemory 12.

The game controller 11 includes circuitry that functions as a positiondeterminator 11 a, an image generator 11 b, and a progress manager 11 cby executing the game processing program recorded in a non-volatilememory of the game processing device 10.

The position determinator 11 a determines the position and orientationof the HMD 20 based on a signal input from the HMD 20, i.e., based onthe information detected by the tracking information detector 22 of theHMD 20. Further, the position determinator 11 a determines the positionand orientation of the operation device 30 based on a signal input fromthe operation device 30 via the HMD 20, i.e., based on the informationdetected by the tracking information detector 32 of the operation device30. In order to perform calculation for determination of position andorientation, a known algorithm corresponding to the information detectedwith the HMD 20 and the operation device 30 simply needs to be used.

The image generator 11 b extracts information of the virtual space andgenerates image information from the extracted information. For example,the image generator 11 b generates image information of the virtualspace in a viewpoint corresponding to the position and orientation ofthe HMD 20 and outputs the image information to the HMD 20. Thedetermination of position and orientation by the position determinator11 a and the generation and outputting of the image information by theimage generator 11 b are performed for each HMD 20. In addition, forexample, the image generator 11 b generates image information in whichthe virtual space is overlooked from a predetermined overlooking pointand outputs the image information to the public display 50.

In addition, using the information input from the assist terminal 60,the image generator 11 b generates information used to form an avatarfor each player.

The progress manager 11 c updates the positions of various objects inthe virtual space to control the appearance positions, appearancetiming, and movement of the objects and define the configuration of thevirtual space in which information is extracted by the image generator11 b. Further, the progress manager 11 c determines the progress stateof the game based on the operation of the player, i.e., the informationdetected with the HMD 20 and the operation device 30 and the informationstored in the data memory 12, to reflect the progress state on theconfiguration of the virtual space and record the progress state in thedata memory 12.

The data memory 12 stores data used to render the virtual space andmanage the progress of the game. The data memory 12 stores game spacedata 12 a, player data 12 b, and game progress data 12 c.

The game space data 12 a is used to render a space where the game isplayed and includes data used to render the background of the game fieldand data used to render an object arranged in the game field. Thedisplay of the object is controlled based on a predetermined condition.Such an object includes, for example, an object such as an enemy movingin the game field and an object displayed only when the predeterminedcondition is satisfied. The game space data 12 a includes positioninformation of such an object in the virtual space.

The player data 12 b is used to render an object arranged in the virtualspace in accordance with the position and orientation of each of the HMD20 and the operation device 30. Such an object includes an avatar setfor each player and a weapon possessed by the player. The player data 12b includes position information of the avatar and the weapon in thevirtual space.

The game progress data 12 c is used to manage the progress of the gameand updated as the game progresses. The game progress data 12 c includesinformation related to an enemy that appears in the game and informationrelated to the player. The enemy-related information includes, forexample, information indicating the difficulty for the player to defeatthe enemy such as the health value or the like of the enemy. Theplayer-related information includes, for example, information indicatingthe degree of accomplishment of the game, such as scores obtained whenthe player defeats the enemy, and information indicating thesatisfaction state of the condition necessary for the game to progress.

[Preliminary Setting]

With reference to FIGS. 2 to 6, various types of setting performedbefore the game starts will now be described together with theconfigurations of the real space, the virtual space, and the image ofthe virtual space displayed on the HMD 20 and the public display 50. Inthe present disclosure, the game implemented by the game system is agame in which the player shoots a target object indicating an enemymoving in the virtual space by operating the operation device 30.

FIG. 2 shows the layout of the devices of the game system and theplayers in the real space.

In the real space, a play space Rs, where the players perform operation,is set within a range in which the positions and orientations of theHMDs 20 can be detected with the HMDs 20 and the tracking assist device40. A first player P1, who uses the HMD 20A and the operation device30A, and a second player P2, who uses the HMD 20B and the operationdevice 30B, are located in the play space Rs while participating in thegame. The horizontal distance between the first player P1 and the secondplayer P2 in the play space Rs, i.e., the distance between the HMD 20Aand the HMD 20B when projected on a horizontal plane in the real space,is a real distance dr.

The position of the public display 50 is not particularly limited and isarranged, for example, in a region adjacent to or in the play space Rs.The public display 50 is, for example, arranged in front of the firstplayer P1 and the second player P2. In the play space Rs illustrated inFIG. 2, the direction toward the public display 50 in parallel to thehorizontal direction is referred to as the front direction and thevertical direction is referred to as the up-down direction to definethree directions, namely, front-rear direction, left-right direction,and up-down direction. The first player P1 and the second player P2 arelocated next to each other in the left-right direction to start thegame. Users other than the first player P1 and the second player P2 lookat the public display 50 from the rear or side of the first player P1and the second player P2.

The position of the HMD 20 when the game processing device 10 startsdetermining the position and orientation of the HMD 20 or when the gameis started is a reference position of the HMD 20 in the play space Rs.The position of the HMD 20 changes from the reference position dependingon the operation of the player. The reference position of the HMD 20A isa first reference position, and the reference position of the HMD 20B isa second reference position.

The tracking assist device 40 is arranged, for example, above the playspace Rs.

The virtual space and the image displayed on the HMD 20 will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 3.

The position determinator 11 a of the game processing device 10determines the position and orientation of the HMD 20 based on a signalinput from the HMD 20. More specifically, the position determinator 11 acalculates the position and orientation of the HMD 20 as the position ina three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system and the angle abouteach of the three axes. Further, the position determinator 11 acalculates the position and orientation of the operation device 30 basedon a signal input from the operation device 30 via the HMD 20 as theposition in the three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system and theangle about each of the three axes. For example, the positions andorientations of the HMD 20 and the operation device 30 may be calculatedusing the front-rear axis as a “roll axis,” the up-down axis as a “yawaxis,” and the left-right axis as a “pitch axis” and using the angleabout each of the three axes as a roll angle, a yaw angle, and a pitchangle.

The position determinator 11 a arranges a virtual point 100 in thevirtual space Vs by aligning the axial direction of a coordinate systemthat defines the position (virtual position) and orientation in thevirtual space Vs and the axial direction of a coordinate system thatdefines the position and orientation in the play space Rs so that thefront-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-downdirection in the virtual space Vs respectively match the front-reardirection, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction in theplay space Rs. The virtual point 100 moves from the initial position asthe position of the HMD 20 moves, and the position of the virtual point100 corresponds to the position of the player in the virtual space Vs.For example, the position of the virtual point 100 is where the head ofthe avatar associated with the player is arranged. The virtual point 100corresponding to the HMD 20A is a first virtual point 100A, and thevirtual point 100 corresponding to the HMD 20B is a second virtual point100B.

For example, in the initial position, the position of the virtual point100 in the up-down direction may be set in accordance with the positionof the HMD 20 in the up-down direction at the reference position in theplay space Rs. The position of the virtual point 100 in the front-reardirection and the left-right direction may be set to a position set inadvance regardless of the position of the HMD 20 in the front-reardirection and the left-right direction at the reference position in theplay space Rs. When the HMD 20 moves from the reference position, theposition determinator 11 a moves the virtual point 100 from thereference position by reflecting the amount of movement from thereference position with respect to each of the front-rear direction, theleft-right direction, and the up-down direction on the amount ofmovement from the initial position with respect to each of thefront-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-downdirection.

The image generator 11 b generates image information based on theposition and orientation of the HMD 20 and outputs the generated imageinformation to the HMD 20. For example, taking into account the positionof the eyes of the player that is estimated based on the position andorientation of the HMD 20, the sightline direction and a gaze position,which is the leading end of the sightline direction, are calculated.Then, the image information of a predetermined range set by the angle ofview or the like around the gaze position is generated. For generationof the image information, the data stored in the data memory 12 is used.

The progress manager 11 c defines the configuration of the virtual spaceVs by updating the position of an object in the virtual space Vs. Forexample, the progress manager 11 c causes a target object 210, whichrepresents an enemy, to appear and causes the target object 210 to movein a manner defined by the game processing program. In addition, forexample, the progress manager 11 c arranges the avatar associated withthe player in the virtual space Vs based on the position and orientationof the HMD 20 and arranges a weapon 260, which resembles a gun or thelike, in the virtual space Vs based on the position and orientation ofthe operation device 30.

Thus, the position determinator 11 a, the image generator 11 b, and theprogress manager 11 c repeat the processes described above so that theimage information of the display range corresponding to the position andorientation of the HMD 20 at the moment is output to the HMD 20 in thevirtual space Vs at the moment defined by the progress manager 11 c.This allows the players to look at, via the HMD 20, the image of thevirtual space Vs at the moment viewed from the viewpoints correspondingto the positions of the players in the virtual space Vs.

In the same virtual space defined by the progress manager 11 c, for eachHMD 20, determination of the position and orientation of the HMD 20 andgeneration and outputting of the corresponding image information areperformed. In the process for the HMD 20A and the process for the HMD20B, the axial directions of the coordinate system in the play space Rsand the axial directions of the coordinate system in the virtual spaceVs are both shared.

Accordingly, the HMD 20A and the HMD 20B display the image of the samevirtual space Vs viewed from the viewpoint corresponding to the positionand orientation of each HMD 20. In addition, the orientationrelationship of the HMD 20A and the HMD 20B in the play space Rs isreflected on the viewpoint of the image displayed on each HMD 20. Forexample, when the first player P1 and the second player P2 are orientedin the same direction in the play space Rs, the first player P1 and thesecond player P2 see the images from different viewpoints oriented inthe same direction in the virtual space Vs via the HMDs 20.

When the position of the avatar corresponding to the second player P2 isincluded in the display range of the image displayed on the HMD 20A,which is worn by the first player P1, the HMD 20A does not have todisplay the avatar of the first player P1 while displaying the avatar ofthe second player P2 even if the position of the avatar corresponding tothe first player P1 is included in the display range. In this case, whenthe position of the weapon 260A corresponding to the operation device30A is included in the display range, the HMD 20A displays only theweapon 260A, for example, floating in the air in accordance with theposition and orientation of the operation device 30A.

Such a configuration prevents the first player P1 from viewing theavatar moving differently from small movement of the hands and legs ofthe first player P1 in the play space Rs as the avatar corresponding tothe first player P1. Thus, the first player P1 feels less uncomfortable.The image displayed on the HMD 20A is viewed from the position of theavatar of the first player P1 in the virtual space Vs. This makes theplayer P1 less uncomfortable even if the avatar of the first player P1is not displayed. In the same manner, the HMD 20B, which is worn by thesecond player P2, does not have to display the avatar corresponding tothe second player P2 while displaying the avatar corresponding to thefirst player P1 in accordance with the position and orientation.

The image displayed on the public display 50 will now be described withreference to FIG. 4.

The image generator 11 b of the game processing device 10 generatesimage information of the display range in the sightline directionoverlooking the virtual space Vs from an overlooking point 110, which isa fixed point set in the virtual space Vs, and outputs the generatedimage information to the public display 50. The overlooking point 110 isset to, for example, a position located at the middle between theinitial position of the first virtual point 100A and the initialposition of the second virtual point 100B in the left-right direction,located rearward from the initial positions of the virtual points 100Aand 100B in the front-rear direction, and located above the initialpositions of the virtual points 100A and 100B in the up-down direction.When the game starts, the display range of the image output to thepublic display 50 may include the upper body or the whole body of anavatar 250A, which corresponds to the first player, and the upper bodyor the whole body of the an avatar 250B, which corresponds to the secondplayer.

Thus, the public display 50 displays the image in which the virtualspace Vs is viewed from a viewpoint located above and behind the firstplayer and the second player in the virtual space Vs. This allows theuser looking at the public display 50 to watch the game as if viewingthe first player and the second player playing the game from above andbehind the first player and the second player in the virtual space Vs.

[Setting of Initial Position]

The setting of the virtual point 100 is performed for each of the HMD20A and the HMD 20B. The positional relationship of the first virtualpoint 100A corresponding to the HMD 20A and the second virtual point100B corresponding to the HMD 20B will now be described with referenceto FIG. 5.

As described above, with respect to the position in the front-reardirection and the left-right direction, i.e., with respect to theposition projected on the horizontal plane, the initial position of thefirst virtual point 100A is set regardless of the first referenceposition serving as the reference position of the HMD 20A, and theinitial position of the second virtual point 100B is set regardless ofthe second reference position serving as the reference position of theHMD 20B.

The initial positions of the first virtual point 100A and the secondvirtual point 100B projected on the horizontal plane, i.e., thepositional coordinates of the initial position of the virtual point 100on the horizontal plane, are also set when implementing the game systemin a certain place of the real space and setting the play space Rs.Subsequently, the set position coordinates may be maintained, and theposition coordinates may be set for each gameplay before the gamestarts.

As shown in FIG. 5, more specifically, when projected on the horizontalplane, the initial position SpA of the first virtual point 100A and theinitial position SpB of the second virtual point 100B are set in theleft-right direction so as to be spaced apart from each other by aninitial distance, which is a predetermined distance. The initialdistance is an initial value of a virtual distance dv, which is ahorizontal distance between the first virtual point 100A and the secondvirtual point 100B. The horizontal direction extends along thehorizontal plane, which is a virtual plane parallel to the left-rightdirection and the front-rear direction. The virtual point 100 is set andthe players are arranged so that the arrangement order of the firstvirtual point 100A and the second virtual point 100B in the left-rightdirection corresponds to the arrangement order of the first player andthe second player when the game starts in the play space Rs, i.e., thearrangement order of the HMD 20A and the HMD 20B.

For example, in the play space Rs, the positions where the first playerand the second player are expected to stand when the game starts areset. Further, the position coordinates of the initial position SpA ofthe first virtual point 100A and the initial position SpB of the secondvirtual point 100B on the horizontal plane are set such that thedistance between the first player and the second player differs from theinitial distance.

As one example, in a case in which the initial distance is set to besmaller than the distance between the expected positions of the firstplayer and the second player when the game starts, the virtual distancedv is smaller than the real distance dr between the HMD 20A and the HMD20B when the game starts. When such a configuration is applied to a gamein which the first player and the second player attempt to operate tomove toward each other, the first player and the second player perceivethe distance therebetween in the virtual space Vs to be shorter than thedistance therebetween in the play space Rs. This prevents the firstplayer and the second player from moving toward each other more thannecessary in the play space Rs. As a result, even if the first playerand the second player cannot see each other in the play space Rs becausethey wear the HMDs 20, the first player and the second player areprevented from inadvertently contacting with each other in the playspace Rs.

As another example, in a case in which the initial distance is set to belarger than the distance between the expected positions of the firstplayer and the second player when the game starts, the virtual distancedv is larger than the real distance dr between the HMD 20A and the HMD20B when the game starts. When such a configuration is applied to a gamein which the first player and the second player attempt to operate tomove away from each other, the first player and the second playerperceive the distance therebetween in the virtual space Vs to be longerthan the distance therebetween in the play space Rs. This prevents thefirst player and the second player from moving away from each other morethan necessary in the play space Rs. As a result, in the real space, thefirst player and the second player are prevented from moving out of theplay space Rs.

In the present embodiment, the initial position SpA of the first virtualpoint 100A and the initial position SpB of the second virtual point 100Bare set such that the initial distance is smaller than the distancebetween the expected positions of the first player and the second playerwhen the game starts. That is, the virtual distance dv is shorter thanthe real distance dr when the game starts. The initial position of thevirtual point 100 in the front-rear direction may be set based on thereference position of the HMD. In this case, the same advantage as aboveis obtained.

[Setting of Avatar]

The process for setting the avatar will now be described with referenceto FIG. 6. In the present embodiment, an avatar is generated for eachplayer based on the face image of the player. The process for settingthe avatar is performed before the game starts.

As shown in FIG. 6, the face image of the player is first photographedwith the assist terminal 60 (step S10). The face image may bephotographed for each player, and the face images of the first playerand the second player may be photographed together.

Face image information generated through photographing is transmittedfrom the assist terminal 60 to the game processing device 10 (step S11).The image generator 11 b of the game processing device 10 extracts thefeature of each player, for example, the positions of the eyes, nose,and mouth, from the face image information, represents the face partreflecting the extracted feature through CG, and generates informationof the face part of the avatar. The image generator 11 b uses theinformation of the costume stored in advance in the game processingdevice 10 and the information of the generated face part to form anavatar in which the face part is incorporated in the costume andgenerate avatar information used to render the avatar (step S12). Thecostume includes, for example, clothes, shoes, gloves, hat, and variousaccessories.

The image generator 11 b associates the generated avatar informationwith the identification information of each player and causes the avatarinformation to be included in the player data 12 b and stored in thedata memory 12 (step S13).

The costume may be selected by the player. For example, multipleselectable costumes are displayed on the assist terminal 60 so that theplayer can select the costumes by operating the assist terminal 60. Theinformation indicating the selected costume is transmitted from theassist terminal 60 to the game processing device 10, and the imagegenerator 11 b generates the avatar information so as to incorporate theface part, which is generated from the face image information, into theselected costume.

In the virtual space Vs, the avatar corresponding to the first player isarranged in accordance with the position and orientation of the HMD 20A,and the avatar corresponding to the second player is arranged inaccordance with the position and orientation of the HMD 20B. Forexample, the head of the avatar corresponding to the first player isarranged at the position of the first virtual point 100A, and the headof the avatar corresponding to the second player is arranged at theposition of the second virtual point 100B. The movement of each HMD 20,i.e., the movement of each virtual point, moves the correspondingavatar.

The position of the head of the avatar is set in accordance with theposition of the HMD 20 in the up-down direction. Further, the positionof the hand of the avatar is set in accordance with the position of aweapon, which is arranged in accordance with the position andorientation of the operation device 30, and represented as if the avatarhas the weapon. It is preferable that the position of the head of theavatar changes as the position of the HMD 20 in the up-down directionchanges and that the torso and the leg of the avatar be represented ascrouching down or jumping in accordance with the position of the head ofthe avatar.

Additionally, in order for the player to check the avatar, the followingprocess may be performed. Before outputting the image of a field wherethe game is performed, the image of the virtual space Vs, which is aroom or the like where the mirror is placed, may be output to the HMD20. Then, in accordance with the position and orientation of the HMD 20,the image generator 11 b may generate image information including theavatar corresponding to the player as if reflected on the mirror in thevirtual space Vs and output the generated image information to the HMD20.

In the configuration of setting the avatar as described above, the facepart of the avatar is generated based on the face image of the player,and the avatar resembling the player is thus generated. Accordingly, thesimilarity between the player and the avatar increases so that theplayer, other players, and the user looking at the public display 50have a stronger affinity to the avatar as a virtual self of the player.Further, in some cases, a humanoid object such as a character appears inaddition to the avatar in the virtual space Vs. Thus, in a conventionalgame, it may be difficult to identify the avatars of other players frommultiple humanoid objects. In the present embodiment, since the facepart of an avatar is generated based on the face image of the player,the avatars of other players can be easily identified.

Further, since the position of the head of an avatar is set inaccordance with the position of the HMD 20 in the up-down direction, theheight relationship of the first player and the second player isreflected on the height relationship of the avatar of the first playerand the avatar of the second player. In addition, when the avatarreflected in the mirror in the virtual space Vs is viewed by the player,the player sees the avatar as if having the same height as the player.Thus, the similarity between the player and the avatar increases so thatthe player has a stronger affinity to the avatar.

[Game Configuration]

The various processes executed by the game processing device 10 for thegame to progress will now be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 16.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the game implementedin the game system, the player shoots a target object, which representsan enemy moving in the virtual space Vs, by operating the operationdevice 30. The attack on the enemy is roughly categorized into threetypes of attacks, namely, normal attack, simultaneous attack, andcombination attack. These attacks will be described sequentially.

First, prior to the description of the attack, the process forrestricting movement of a player will be described with reference toFIGS. 7 to 9. In the present embodiment, two players perform operationsin one play space Rs while playing the game. Each player wears the HMD20. Thus, it is difficult to visually recognize the position of theother player in the play space Rs. Thus, in such a situation, there is ademand for a strategy to prevent the players from unintentionallycontacting with each other in the play space Rs. In particular, when thegame requires operation in which the two players to move toward eachother, the strategy is highly useful. The strategy will hereinafter bedescribed.

In the present embodiment, for each player, a range in which the playeris permitted to move is set. In other words, for each HMD 20, a range inwhich the HMD 20 is permitted to move is set. More specifically, in thegame processing device 10, a movement permission region, in which thevirtual point 100 is permitted to move as the HMD 20 moves, is set inthe virtual space Vs.

As shown in FIG. 7, the movement permission region Ms encircles theinitial position Sp of the virtual point 100. Normally, the playerscontact with each other when moving in the horizontal direction. Thus,the movement permission region Ms simply needs to have a range withrespect to the horizontal direction, i.e., the front-rear direction andthe left-right direction. For example, in the horizontal plane includingthe initial position Sp of the virtual point 100, the movementpermission region Ms has a circular shape with the initial position Splocated in the center. The region that matches the circular region inthe position in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction,i.e., a cylindrical region extending from the circular region in theup-down direction, is referred to as the movement permission region Msin the virtual space Vs. The position information of the initialposition Sp of the virtual point 100 and the movement permission regionMs is included and stored in the game space data 12 a.

The movement permission region Ms is set for each HMD 20, i.e., eachvirtual point 100. The movement permission region Ms set for the firstvirtual point 100A is a first permission region MsA, and the movementpermission region Ms set for the second virtual point 100B is a secondpermission region MsB. The first permission region MsA and the secondpermission region MsB are set such that they are spaced apart from eachother and they do not overlap with each other. For example, the movementpermission regions Ms are arranged at the same position in thefront-rear direction and arranged at different positions in theleft-right direction.

The progress manager 11 c of the game processing device 10 sets a regionindicator, which indicates the movement permission region Ms, in thevirtual space Vs when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and theimage generator 11 b generates image information including the regionindicator and outputs the generated image information to the HMD 20.

FIG. 8 shows a region indicator 270 together with the avatar 250, whichis located in the movement permission region Ms. The region indicator270 is a tubular object having a mesh-pattern circumferential wall. Theregion indicator 270 is located on the boundary between the inner sideand the outer side of the movement permission region Ms to indicate theposition of the movement permission region Ms. That is, the regionindicator 270 is a tubular object encircling the initial position Sp ofthe virtual point 100 and extending in the up-down direction.

In FIG. 8, to facilitate understanding, the region indicator 270 isshown in a viewpoint from the outer side of the movement permissionregion Ms. In a viewpoint from the player, i.e., in a viewpoint from theinner side of the movement permission region Ms, the mesh-patterncircumferential wall of the region indicator 270 is seen in a viewpointfrom the inner side of the tube, and the scene of the outer side of themovement permission region Ms is seen from through the meshes.

The process for switching the region indicator 270 between a displayedstate and a non-displayed state will now be described with reference toFIG. 9. The flowchart shown in FIG. 9 is a process performed by theprogress manager 11 c of the game processing device 10. The process isstarted after setting the virtual point 100 and repeated while the gamecontinues. The region indicator 270 is not displayed when the processstarts. The process shown in FIG. 9 is performed for each HMD 20, i.e.,performed for each virtual point 100 set in accordance with the HMD 20.

In step S20, the progress manager 11 c refers to the positioninformation of the virtual point 100 at the moment that moves as the HMD20 moves to determine whether or not the boundary distance between thevirtual point 100 and the outer edge of the movement permission regionMs set for the virtual point 100 is less than or equal to apredetermined threshold value. The boundary distance used for thedetermination is a minimum distance on the horizontal plane between thevirtual point 100 and the outer edge of the movement permission regionMs.

If the boundary distance is greater than the threshold value (step S20:negative determination), the progress manager 11 c repeats the processof step S20. For example, if the movement of the HMD 20 from thereference position is small like immediately after the game starts, themovement of the virtual point 100 from the initial position is alsosmall. Thus, the negative determination is made in step S20.

If the boundary distance is less than or equal to the threshold value(step S20: affirmative determination), as a process of step S21, theprogress manager 11 c updates the position information of the object inthe virtual space Vs so as to arrange the region indicator 270 at apredetermined position of the virtual space Vs, i.e., on the boundary ofthe movement permission region Ms. Using the updated information, theimage generator 11 b generates and outputs the image information for theHMD 20 to display the region indicator 270.

After the process of step S21, the progress manager 11 c, as a processof step S22, refers to the position information of the virtual point 100at the moment to determine whether or not the boundary distance exceedsthe threshold value. If the boundary distance is less than or equal tothe threshold value (step S22: negative determination), the progressmanager 11 c repeats the process of step S22. During the process, theHMD 20 continues to display the region indicator 270 on the boundary ofthe movement permission region Ms.

If the boundary distance is greater than the threshold value (step S22:affirmative determination), the progress manager 11 c, as a process ofstep S23, updates the position information of the object in the virtualspace Vs so as to clear the region indicator 270 from the virtual spaceVs, i.e., so as not to display the region indicator 270 in the virtualspace Vs. Using the updated information, the image generator 11 bgenerates and outputs the image information for the HMD 20 to stopdisplaying the region indicator 270.

Afterwards, the progress manager 11 c repeats the processes of steps S20to S23 so that the HMD 20 displays the region indicator 270 when theboundary distance is less than or equal to the threshold value and theHMD 20 does not display the region indicator 270 when the boundarydistance is greater than the threshold value.

In the above configuration, when the virtual point 100 is located in aregion where the distance from the virtual point 100 to the outer edgeof the movement permission region Ms is less than or equal to thethreshold value, i.e., when the player approaches the outer edge of therange in which the player is permitted to move, the HMD 20 displays theregion indicator 270. More specifically, when the distance between thevirtual point 100A and the outer edge of the first permission region MsAis less than or equal to the threshold value, the HMD 20A displays theregion indicator 270 indicating the first permission region MsA, andwhen the distance between the virtual point 100B and the outer edge ofthe second permission region MsB is less than or equal to the thresholdvalue, the HMD 20B displays the region indicator 270 indicating thesecond permission region MsB.

Such a configuration allows the player to perceive the movementpermission region Ms. This guides the player to move without theposition of the player in the virtual space Vs moving out of themovement permission region Ms. Thus, the range in which the player movesin the play space Rs can be limited. Since the first permission regionMsA and the second permission region MsB are spaced apart from eachother, the first player and the second player do not contact with eachother in the play space Rs. The threshold value of the boundary distancesimply needs to be set to a distance in accordance with, for example,the size of the movement permission region Ms.

The region indicator 270 may always be displayed. In the same manner asabove, this allows the player to perceive the movement permission regionMs and limit the range where the player moves in the play space Rs.Nevertheless, the field of view of the player can further be preventedfrom remaining obstructed by the region indicator 270 by displaying theregion indicator 270 only when the virtual point 100 and the outer edgeof the movement permission region Ms move toward each other, i.e., onlywhen the player is highly likely to move to such a large extent that thevirtual point 100 moves out of the movement permission region Ms. Thishinders the region indicator 270 from serving as an obstacle to the playand reminds the player of the position of the player approaching theouter edge of the movement permission region.

Further, the region indicator 270 is not limited to a tubular objecthaving a mesh-pattern circumferential wall and simply needs to indicatethe movement permission region Ms. For example, the region indicator 270may be a tubular or post-shaped semitransparent object. However, whenthe region indicator 270 is tubular, it is easy to identify the boundarybetween the inner side and the outer side of the movement permissionregion Ms. Further, as compared to a plate-shaped circumferential wall,the mesh-pattern circumferential wall reduces a portion of the field ofview of the player obstructed by the region indicator 270. This allowsthe player to easily perceive the states of the surroundings in thevirtual space Vs even when the region indicator 270 is displayed.

Further, the shape of the movement permission region Ms may differ froma cylindrical shape depending on the movement of the player required inthe game. In this case, the region indicator 270 simply needs to be anobject shaped in conformance with the shape of the movement permissionregion Ms.

Additionally, text or audio guidance that advises the player not to moveout of the movement permission region Ms may be given to the player viathe HMD 20 together with the region indicator 270.

The process shown in FIG. 9 is a process performed when determining thatthe virtual point 100 is located in the movement permission region Ms.When the virtual point 100 is determined to be located in the movementpermission region Ms, it is preferable that the same process as step S21be performed and that the region indicator 270 remain displayed whilethe virtual point 100 is located outside the movement permission regionMs. This allows the player to perceive the movement permission region Msand guides the player to move to the movement permission region Ms.

In the same manner as the image information output to the HMD 20, theimage information output to the public display 50 may or may not includethe region indicator 270.

[Normal Attack]

The normal attack will now be described with reference to FIG. 10.

When the player performs an on-operation, which is a predeterminedoperation such as pressing an operation button, on the operation device30, a signal indicating the on-operation is input from the operationdevice 30 to the game processing device 10 via the HMD 20. The gameprocessing device 10 detects the on-operation in the operation device30.

When the game processing device 10 detects the on-operation, theprogress manager 11 c performs the following process. As shown in FIG.10, the progress manager 11 c updates the position information of theobject in the virtual space Vs so that an effect object 220 is arrangedfrom the position of the weapon 260, which is located in the virtualspace Vs, toward the orientation of the operation device 30 based on theposition and orientation of the operation device 30. The effect object220 indicates an attack such as a beam emitted from the weapon 260.Using the updated information, the image generator 11 b generates andoutputs the image information so that the HMD 20 and the public display50 display the effect object 220.

In addition, the progress manager 11 c refers to the positioninformation of the target object 210 at the moment, which indicates anenemy, to determine whether or not the target object 210 is located inthe direction pointed by the effect object 220. When the target object210 is located in the direction pointed by the effect object 220, theprogress manager 11 c determines that the attack is valid. Whendetermining that the attack is valid, the progress manager 11 c performsa process that is set as a process performed when the enemy is defeated.For example, the process is to set the display indicating that the enemyis defeated to the virtual space Vs and to record a score for theplayer.

Additionally, when the target object 210 is located in the directionpointed by the effect object 220, the progress manager 11 c may arrange,in the virtual space Vs, an indicator indicating that the weapon 260 istargeted on the target object 210 based on the position and orientationof the operation device 30 and the position information of the targetobject 210. Such an indicator is embodied in, for example, a concentricmark that indicates a target by being overlapped with the target object210.

The items that may be set for the target object 210 will now bedescribed.

Information related to each target object 210 is set for the targetobject 210. The information includes a parameter associated with thetarget object 210 such as a health value, which is a numerical valueindicating health. The progress manager 11 c may gradually reduce theset health value every time the attack is determined to be valid andperform a process executed in the case of defeating the enemy when thehealth value reaches zero. That is, the effect of the case of defeatingthe enemy is produced when the attack strikes the target object 210 apredetermined number of times or when the attack remains on the targetobject 210 for a predetermined time. In such a case, for each targetobject 210, an indicator such as a gauge indicating the remaining valueof the health value may be arranged near the target object 210. Further,the information related to the target object 210 may include, inaddition to or instead of the health value, a level, rarity, hit point(HP), attack power, recover ability, attribute, and the like.

Further, multiple types of target objects 210 that differ in thedifficulty for the player to defeat the enemy may appear. For example, atarget object 210 that receives a larger damage from the attack of thefirst player than from the attack of the second player, a target object210 that receives a larger damage from the attack of the second playerthan from the attack of the first player, and a target object 210 thatreceives the same damage from the attack of the first player and theattack of the second player may exist so that the target objects 210 isidentifiable from the outer appearance such as color or shape.

When the multiple types of target objects 210 appear, the progressmanager 11 c may change the damage given to a subject target object 210in which the attack is determined to be valid, i.e., the reductionamount of the health value, based on whether or not the operation device30 on which the on-operation has been performed is associated with theHMD 20A or the HMD 20B and based on the type of the target object 210.Instead of changing the reduction amount of the health value, forexample, damage may be differentiated by reducing the health value forthe attack from one player and by stopping movement of the target object210 without reducing the health value for the attack from the otherplayer.

The existence of multiple types of target objects 210 that differdepending on the players in the difficulty for the players to defeatenemies allows the first player and the second player to cooperate inplaying the game by planning a strategy for completing the game, forexample, concentrating on defeating an enemy that can be easily defeatedby each player.

Further, the target object 210 may be able to attack the player. Forexample, the progress manager 11 c determines that the attack from thetarget object 210 is valid when the target object 210 remains locatedwithin a predetermined range proximate to the position of the player,i.e., proximate to the position of the virtual point 100, for apredetermined time. More specifically, when the target object 210 sticksto the avatar corresponding to the player for the predetermined time,the attack is determined to be valid. The player-related information isassociated with each player. The information includes a parameterrelated to continuing the game such as the health value or the number oftimes the game can be continued even if the player receives damage. Whendetermining that the attack from the target object 210 is valid, theprogress manager 11 c reduces the parameter. The indicator such as agauge indicating such a parameter is arranged in, for example, a rangethat can be viewed from the player in the virtual space Vs, such as thevicinity of the weapon 260. When the parameter is reduced to such avalue that the game cannot be continued, the player is unable to performan action such as an attack.

If a target object 210 receiving a larger damage from one player (forexample, second player) than from the other player (for example, firstplayer) is set to attack the first player, the first player can be savedwhen the second player attacks the target object 210, which attacks thefirst player, to be greatly damaged and defeated. This also allows thefirst player and the second player to cooperate in playing the game.

The parameter related to continuing the game may be recovered bydefeating the target object 210. For example, when the progress manager11 c determines that a predetermined target object 210 has been defeatedor determines that a predetermined number of target objects 210 havebeen defeated, the progress manager 11 c increases the parameter, forexample, increases the health value.

When the parameters of both the first player and the second player arereduced to such values that the game cannot be continued, the game ends.When the parameter of only one of the players is reduced to such a valuethat the game cannot be continued, he or she cannot play the game andonly the other player continues the game. The player who can no longerplay the game may be indicated by changing the displayed state of theavatar (at least one of brightness, saturation, and hue) and displayingthe avatar with the changed displayed state, for example, by grayingout. In addition, by changing and displaying the displayed state (atleast one of brightness, saturation, and hue) or the like of the virtualspace Vs, it may be implied in the HMD 20 of the player that the playercannot play the game. In this case, the parameter of the player whocannot play the game may recover as the time elapses or when the otherplayer accomplishes a predetermined task for the player who cannot playthe game to restart playing the game.

The information related to the setting of the target object 210 and theplayer, i.e., the information indicating the type or the health value ofeach target object 210 and the above parameters of the player, isincluded in the game progress data 12 c and stored in the data memory 12and are updated as the game progresses. As one example, among the dataof the game progress data 12 c, FIG. 11 shows the data of theplayer-related information including the information indicating theparameters related to continuing the game.

[Simultaneous Attack]

The simultaneous attack will now be described with reference to FIG. 12.In the simultaneous attack, the first player and the second playersimultaneously attack the same target object 210.

The progress manager 11 c determines that the simultaneous attack hasbeen performed on the same target object 210 when simultaneously makingthe determination that the attack performed by the first player, i.e.,the attack based on the on-operation of the operation device 30A, isvalid, and making the determination that the attack performed by thesecond player, i.e., the attack based on the on-operation of theoperation device 30B, is valid. When determining that the simultaneousattack has been performed, the progress manager 11 c performs a processfor producing a first effect, which is a special effect.

Unlike the effect produced when determining the normal attack to bevalid, the special effect allows the player to attack a target object210 more advantageously than the normal attack. For example, the firsteffect may be an effect for setting the attack power to be larger thanthe normal attack. That is, as a process for producing the first effect,the progress manager 11 c may reduce the parameter such as the healthvalue set for the target object 210 to a larger extent than the totalamount of reduction when each player separately performs the normalattack. In addition, for example, the first effect may be to stop movingthe target object 210 or to identifiably display a weak part of thetarget object 210, i.e., a part of the target object 210 that receives alarger damage when attacked than other parts by, for example, exposingthe part.

Further, it is preferable that the progress manager 11 c change theconfiguration of the virtual space Vs for the HMD 20 to displaydifferently as the first effect is produced. For example, as shown inFIG. 12, the progress manager 11 c may change the effect object 220 toan object that is more noticeable than that of the normal attack. Thisallows the player to visually ascertain the production of the firsteffect. FIG. 12 shows the virtual space Vs in a state in which thesimultaneous attack is being performed, as viewed from behind the firstplayer and the second player.

Additionally, when the attack strikes a particular part of the sametarget object 210, it may be determined that the simultaneous attack hasbeen performed to produce the first effect. For example, as shown inFIG. 12, when the attack of one of the players strikes one of the twohand parts of the enemy indicated by the target object 210 and theattack of the other one of the players strikes the other one of the twohand parts, it may be determined that the simultaneous attack has beenperformed. In this case, the progress manager 11 c refers to theposition information of the two hand parts to determine that thesimultaneous attack has been performed when simultaneously making thedetermination that the attack based on the on-operation of the operationdevice 30A is valid on one of the two hand parts and the determinationthat the attack based on the on-operation of the operation device 30B isvalid on the other one of the two hand parts. Based on thesedeterminations, the first effect is produced.

When the same target object 210 is located in the direction pointed bythe weapon 260A and the weapon 260B, the progress manager 11 c mayarrange, in the virtual space Vs, an indicator that differs from that ofthe normal attack in color, size, shape, or the like as an indicatorindicating that the weapons 260 are targeted on the target object 210.

As described above, when the simultaneous attack can be performed, thefirst player and the second player perform the simultaneous attack,i.e., produce the first effect. This allows the first player and thesecond player to cooperate in playing the game.

[Combination Attack]

The combination attack will now be described with reference to FIGS. 13to 15. The condition for performing the combination attack is determinedto be satisfied when the following three conditions are satisfied. Afirst condition is that the player has accomplished a predetermined taskin the game. A second condition is that the virtual distance dv, whichis the horizontal distance between the first virtual point 100A thatmoves as the HMD 20A moves and the second virtual point 100B that movesas the HMD 20B moves, is less than or equal to the reference distance,which is a predetermined distance. A third condition is that apredetermined operation has been performed with the operation device 30.The three conditions will be described sequentially.

The predetermined task in the first condition is set as a task that canbe accomplished by repeating the normal attack or the combinationattack, for example, a task of obtaining a predetermined score bydefeating a predetermined number of target objects 210 or defeating atarget object 210. The task may be set for each player so that the firstcondition is satisfied when at least one of the first player and thesecond player has accomplished the task or when the first player and thesecond player have both accomplished the task. Alternatively, the taskmay be a task shared by the first player and the second player, forexample, a task in which the total number of target objects 210 defeatedby the first player and the second player has reached a predeterminednumber.

The indicator such as a gauge indicating the accomplishment state of thetask is arranged in a range that can be viewed from the player in thevirtual space Vs, for example, in the vicinity of the weapon 260, inorder for the player to ascertain whether or not the first condition issatisfied. The progress manager 11 c includes the accomplishment stateof the task in the game progress data 12 c and records it in the datamemory 12, as illustrated in FIG. 11, as the gameplay progresses.

In the second condition, the reference distance is set to be greaterthan or equal to the minimum distance in the horizontal directionbetween the first permission region MsA, which is the movementpermission region Ms set for the first virtual point 100A, and thesecond permission region MsB, which is the movement permission region Msset for the second virtual point 100B. That is, the reference distanceis set such that the virtual distance dv can be less than or equal tothe reference distance when the first virtual point 100A is located inthe first permission region MsA and the second virtual point 100B islocated in the second permission region MsB.

As shown in FIG. 13, range indicators 280 that allow for determinationof whether or not the virtual distance dv is less than or equal to thereference distance are arranged in the virtual space Vs for the playersto ascertain whether or not the second condition is satisfied. The rangeindicators 280 include, for example, two annular ring objects 280A and280B. The ring objects 280A and 280B are arranged one by one at aposition encircling the avatar 250 corresponding to each player. Thatis, the ring object 280A encircles the avatar 250A around a point wherethe coordinates on the horizontal plane correspond to the first virtualpoint 100A, i.e., a point on a straight line extending through the firstvirtual point 100A in the up-down direction, and the ring object 280Bencircles the avatar 250B around a point where the coordinates on thehorizontal plane correspond to the second virtual point 100B. Theposition of each of the ring objects 280A and 280B in the up-downdirection may be, for example, any position from the floor surface tothe virtual point 100 in the virtual space Vs. The radius of each of thering objects 280A and 280B is half as long as the reference distance.When the two ring objects 280A and 280B overlap with each other, i.e.,when the region encircled by the ring object 280A and the regionencircled by the ring object 280B include a region where the positioncoordinates correspond to each other on the horizontal plane, thevirtual distance dv is less than or equal to the reference distance.

Thus, depending on whether or not the two ring objects 280A and 280Boverlap with each other, the first player and the second player candetermine whether or not the second condition is satisfied. When the tworing objects 280A and 280B move so as to overlap with each other, thesecond condition can be satisfied.

Although the range indicator 280 may always be displayed, it ispreferable that the range indicator 280 be displayed when at least oneof the first condition and the third condition is satisfied. Inparticular, it is preferable that the range indicator 280 be displayedwhen the first condition is satisfied. In the case in which the rangeindicator 280 is displayed only when almost satisfying the conditionsthat enable the combination attack, the indicator 280 is furtherprevented from entering the field of view of the player and continuingto obstruct the field of view. Further, the player can be reminded ofthe condition that enables the combination attack almost beingsatisfied.

To facilitate understanding, FIG. 13 shows a state in which the ringobjects 280A and 280B are arranged around the avatars 250 respectivelycorresponding to the first player and the second player, as viewed frombehind each player. From the viewpoint of each player, the ring object280A or 280B encircling the player is seen, and the ring object 280A or280B encircling the avatar 250 corresponding to the other player is seenaround that avatar 250.

The predetermined operation in the third condition is to, for example,press-and-hold the operation button and preferably differs from theoperation for performing the normal attack. The third condition may besatisfied when the first player and the second player both perform thepredetermined operation, i.e., when the predetermined operation isperformed by both the operation device 30A and the operation device 30B.The third condition may also be satisfied when the predeterminedoperation is performed by at least one of the operation device 30A andthe operation device 30B. As another option, different operations may beset for the first operation device 30A and the second operation device30B as the predetermined operation in the third condition, and the thirdcondition may be satisfied when the predetermined operation is performedwith each operation device 30.

The process performed by the progress manager 11 c of the gameprocessing device 10 for executing the combination attack will now bedescribed with reference to FIG. 14. The flowchart of FIG. 14 is aprocess repeated while the game continues.

In the process of step S30, the progress manager 11 c refers to the gameprogress data 12 c to determine whether or not the first condition issatisfied, i.e., whether or not the task has been accomplished. If thefirst condition has not been satisfied (step S30: negativedetermination), the progress manager 11 c repeats the process of stepS30.

If the first condition is satisfied (step S30: affirmativedetermination), the progress manager 11 c, as a process of step S31,updates the position information of the object in the virtual space Vsso as to arrange the ring objects 280A and 280B, which are the rangeindicators 280, at the positions encircling the avatars 250 in thevirtual space Vs. Using the updated information, the image generator 11b generates and outputs the image information for the HMD 20 and thepublic display 50 to display the range indicators 280.

After the process of step S31, the progress manager 11 c, as a processof step S32, refers to the position information of each virtual point100 at the moment to determine whether or not the second condition issatisfied, i.e., whether or not the virtual distance dv is less than orequal to the reference distance. If the second condition has not beensatisfied (step S32: negative determination), the progress manager 11 crepeats the process of step S32.

If the second condition is satisfied (step S32: affirmativedetermination), the progress manager 11 c, as a process of step S33,refers to a signal indicating operation performed with the operationdevice 30, which is input from the HMD 20, to determine whether or notthe third condition is satisfied, i.e., whether or not the predeterminedoperation is detected with the operation device 30. If the thirdcondition has not been satisfied (step S33: negative determination), theprogress manager 11 c repeats the processes of steps S32 and S33, i.e.,the processes for determining whether or not the second condition andthe third condition are satisfied.

If the third condition is satisfied (step S33: affirmativedetermination), the progress manager 11 c, as a process of step S34,performs a process for performing the combination attack, i.e., aprocess for producing a second effect, which is a special effect. Thethree conditions need to be simultaneously satisfied. Through theprocesses of steps S32 and S33, the progress manager 11 c determineswhether or not the second condition and the third condition aresimultaneously satisfied, i.e., whether or not the predeterminedoperation is performed by the operation device 30 when the virtualdistance dv is less than or equal to the reference distance.

Unlike the effect produced when determining the normal attack to bevalid, the second effect allows the player to attack a target object 210more advantageously than the first effect. For example, the secondeffect may be an effect for setting the attack power to be larger thanthe normal attack and the simultaneous attack. That is, as a process forproducing the second effect, the progress manager 11 c may reduce theparameter such as the health value of the target object 210 to a largerextent than the amount of reduction when the normal attack and thesimultaneous attack are performed. The determination of whether or notthe combination attack is valid is made in the same manner as thedetermination of whether or not the normal attack is valid.

Further, it is preferable that the progress manager 11 c change theconfiguration of the virtual space Vs for the HMD 20 to displaydifferently as the second effect is produced. For example, as shown inFIG. 15, the progress manager 11 c may change the effect object 220 toan object that is more noticeable than those of the normal attack andthe simultaneous attack. This allows the player to visually ascertainthe production of the second effect. FIG. 15 shows a state in which thecombination attack is being performed, as viewed from behind the firstplayer and the second player.

FIG. 15 shows an example in which the effect objects 220 are arranged soas to be emitted respectively from the weapon 260A, which is possessedby the avatar 250A of the first player, and the weapon 260B, which ispossessed by the avatar 250B of the second player. Instead, the effectobjects 220 may be arranged so that one effect object 220 is emittedfrom the weapons 260A and 260B. That is, when the condition issatisfied, each of the first player and the second player may performthe combination attack on a single target object 210 or thecorresponding target object 210. Alternatively, the first player and thesecond player may jointly perform the combination attack on a singletarget object 210.

The second effect may last only during a period in which the above threeconditions are satisfied. Instead, even if any one of the threeconditions is not satisfied after the production of the second effect,the second effect may last. More specifically, the second effect maylast during a period in which the virtual distance dv is less than orequal to the reference distance after the production of the secondeffect, and the second effect may last even if the virtual distance dvexceeds the reference distance after the production of the secondeffect. In this case, for example, the second effect lasts only for apredetermined time and then disappears. When the second effectdisappears, the accomplishment state of the task in the first conditionreturns to the initial state. Then, the players again progress the gameso as to satisfy the three conditions. This allows for the combinationattack.

Further, the lasting of the second effect, i.e., the combination attackbeing performed, may be identifiable by switching the indicator of theweapon 260. For example, starting of the period in which the combinationattack is performed may be indicated by transforming the weapon 260,such as by opening and emitting part of the weapon 260 from which a beamor the like is emitted, and ending of the period in which thecombination attack is performed may be indicated by returning thetransformation of the weapon 260, such as by closing the emitting partof the weapon 260. Alternatively, while the combination attack is beingperformed, the weapon 260 may be changed to a weapon looking differentfrom that used for the normal attack or the simultaneous attack. Such aconfiguration allows the player to easily perceive when the performingperiod of the combination attack starts and ends.

While the second effect lasts, when the target object 210 is located inthe direction pointed by the weapon 260, the progress manager 11 c mayarrange, in the virtual space Vs, an indicator that differs from that ofthe normal attack or the simultaneous attack in color, size, shape, orthe like as an indicator indicating that the weapon 260 is targeted onthe target object 210.

Since the combination attack can be performed as described above, thefirst player and the second player can cooperate in playing the game toperform the combination attack, i.e., produce the second effect. Inparticular, since the condition for performing the combination attackincludes a condition in which the virtual distance dv is less than orequal to the reference distance, the first player and the second playerattempt to perform operation in cooperation such that the distancetherebetween in the virtual space Vs is less than or equal to thereference distance. This deepens the correlation between the cooperationof the two players in the virtual space Vs and the mutual operationrelationship of the two players in the play space Rs during thecooperation. Setting the virtual distance dv to be less than or equal tothe reference distance is a specific condition that can be set in a VRgame in which two players participating in the game wear the HMDs 20 andoperation of each player in one play space Rs is detected. That is,since the combination attack can be performed, gameplay taking advantageof the operation of the two players being detectable can be performed asgameplay in which the first player and the second player cooperate. Thisincreases the originality of the game, makes the users more interestedin the game, and consequently increases the number of usersparticipating in the game.

Further, when the first effect and the second effect differ from eachother, the enemy can be effectively defeated by consecutively performingthe simultaneous attack and the combination attack. Particularly, thecollaboration of the simultaneous attack and the combination attackfunctions effectively if the first effect is to lower the resistance ofthe target object 210 to the attack of the player, for example, to stopmoving the target object 210 and to identifiably display a weak part ofthe target object 210 by exposing the weak part, and the second effectis to increase the attack power of the attack of the player.

[Modification of Combination Attack]

A modification of the combination attack will now be described. In theabove combination attack, the second condition, which is one of theconditions for performing the combination attack, is that the distancebetween the virtual points 100 that move as the HMDs 20 move is lessthan or equal to the reference distance. Instead, the second conditionmay be that the distance between points in the virtual space Vs thatmove as the operation devices 30 move is less than or equal to apredetermined distance. That is, the virtual point that moves as theoperation device 30A moves is set in the virtual space Vs based on thedetermination of the position and orientation of the operation device30A. The virtual point corresponds to the positions of the operationdevice 30A and the hand of the first player in the virtual space Vs andis used as a reference for the arrangement of the weapon 260A. In thesame manner, the virtual point that moves as the operation device 30Bmoves is set in the virtual space Vs based on the determination of theposition and orientation of the operation device 30B. The secondcondition is that the horizontal distance between the virtual pointcorresponding to the operation device 30A and the virtual pointcorresponding to the operation device 30B is less than or equal to thepredetermined distance.

In this case, it is preferable that the range indicator 280 thatindicates whether or not the distance between the virtual points is lessthan or equal to the predetermined distance be arranged, for example,around the weapon 260 in the virtual space Vs. Even if either thedistance between the virtual points corresponding to the positions ofthe HMDs 20 or the distance between the virtual points corresponding tothe positions of the operation devices 30 is used as the condition forperforming the combination attack, the range indicator 280 does not haveto be annular and simply needs to allow for determination of whether ornot the distance between the virtual points is less than or equal to thepredetermined distance. For example, the range indicator 280 mayindicate the difference of the distance between the virtual points andthe predetermined distance with a gauge or the like.

In the above configuration, in order to perform the combination attack,the first player and the second player attempt to perform operation incooperation such that the distance between the operation devices 30 inthe virtual space Vs is less than or equal to the predetermined range.Thus, the first player and the second player can cooperate to play thegame by taking advantage of the operations of the two players beingdetectable.

More specifically, the condition required to perform the combinationattack simply needs to include, as the second condition, a condition inwhich the distance between a first position, which moves in the virtualspace Vs in accordance with the position of the first player in the playspace Rs, and a second position, which moves in the virtual space Vs inaccordance with the position of the second player in the play space Rs,is less than or equal to the predetermined distance. The position of thefirst player and the position of the second player may be a position ofany part of the players. For example, when the position of the player isidentifiable based on the information detected by the HMD 20, theposition of the player is the position of the head of the player.Further, for example, when the position of the player is identifiablebased on the information detected by the operation device 30, theposition of the player is the position of the hand of the player.Additionally, for example, when the players wear devices for detectingthe positions of the torso and leg and the positions of the players aredetermined based on the information detected by the devices, theposition of the player is the position of a part where each device isworn.

The first position and the second position simply need to be located tomove in the virtual space Vs in accordance with the positions of theplayers. More specifically, the first position and the second positionmay be the positions of the virtual points 100 set based on thepositions of the HMDs 20 or may be the positions in which the virtualpoints 100 are reflected on a virtual plane, such as a horizontal plane,set in the virtual space Vs. In the cases described with reference toFIGS. 13 to 15, each of the first position and the second position iswhere the virtual point 100 is projected on the horizontal plane, inother words, a position defined by the position coordinates on thehorizontal plane of the virtual point 100. Further, the first positionand the second position may be the positions of the virtual points 100set based on the positions of the operation devices 30 and may be wherethe virtual points are projected on the virtual plane set in the virtualspace Vs. In the cases described as the modification of the abovecombination attack, each of the first position and the second positionis where the virtual point set based on the position of the operationdevice 30 is projected on the horizontal plane.

In each of the above cases of the combination attack, the condition forperforming the combination attack simply needs to include at least thesecond condition, i.e., a condition in which the distance between thefirst position and the second position is less than or equal to thepredetermined distance. In other words, the condition for performing thecombination attack may be determined to be satisfied only when thesecond condition is satisfied or when the second condition and one ofthe first and third conditions are satisfied. Additionally, in order toperform the combination attack, a condition that differs from the firstand third conditions may be required in addition to the secondcondition. As long as the condition for performing the combinationattack includes the second condition, the first player and the secondplayer can cooperate to play the game by taking advantage of theoperation of the two players being detectable.

In addition, the second condition may be determined to be satisfied whenthe distance between the first position and the second position iswithin a predetermined range set in advance. This range is not limitedto a range only having an upper limit as described above and may be arange having a lower limit and an upper limit or a range only having alower limit.

As another modification of the combination attack, the second conditionmay be that the first player and the second player hold hands. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 16, each of the first player P1 and the secondplayer P2 wears an operation device 30 that is glove-shaped or is shapedto be wearable on the wrist, the back of the hand, or the fingers. Basedon the detection result from the tracking information detector 32 ofeach operation device 30, the game processing device 10 determines theposition of the operation device 30A, which is worn by the first playerP1, and the position of the operation device 30B, which is worn by thesecond player P2, in accordance with movement of the operation devices30A and 30B. When the distance between the position of the operationdevice 30A and the position of the operation device 30B is so small thatthe first player P1 and the second player P2 are deemed to be holdinghands, the progress manager 11 c determines that the second condition issatisfied.

Such a configuration also allows the first user and the second user tocooperate in playing the game by taking advantage of the operation ofthe two players being detectable. In the above configuration, it ispreferable that the following configuration be adopted so that the firstplayer P1 and the second player P2 can easily hold hands with each otherwhile looking at an image displayed on the HMD 20. That is, it ispreferable that the distance between the virtual points 100 change asthe distance between the HMDs 20 changes so that the ratio of thedistance between the players ascertained from the image displayed on theHMDs 20, i.e., the distance between the first virtual point 100A and thesecond virtual point 100B in the virtual space Vs, to the distancebetween the HMD 20A and the HMD 20B in the play space Rs is fixed.

[Process after Game Ends]

The game ends, for example, when the player accomplishes a predeterminedtask to complete the game, when the parameters set for the player arereduced to such values that the game cannot be continued, and when apredetermined time elapses. The process performed for providing theplayer with the record of participating in the game will hereinafter bedescribed with reference to FIG. 17.

As shown in FIG. 17, the progress manager 11 c of the game processingdevice 10 updates the position information of the object in the virtualspace Vs so as to capture photos of the avatar 250A of the first playerand the avatar 250B of the second player in the virtual space Vs (stepS40). For example, the progress manager 11 c determines theconfiguration of the virtual space Vs for an object resembling anaircraft such as a drone, equipped with a camera, to fly in the virtualspace Vs and perform photographing by releasing the shutter in front ofthe avatar 250 after a predetermined period of approximately severalseconds has elapsed. Using the updated information, the image generator11 b generates and outputs the image information so that the HMD 20 andthe public display 50 display the scenes of the photos captured in thevirtual space Vs. The player may select the object or icon of the cameraarranged in the virtual space Vs to perform shooting.

When shooting is performed in the virtual space Vs, the record of ascore or the like obtained by the player when playing the game may bedisplayed near the camera. Alternatively, a mirror may be arranged nearthe camera so that the player can view his or her avatar in the mirror,hold a desired pose during photographing, and check the pose.

Subsequently, the image generator 11 b of the game processing device 10refers to the position and orientation of the HMD 20A, the position andorientation of the operation device 30A, the position and orientation ofthe HMD 20B, and the position and orientation of the operation device30B when photographing is performed in the virtual space Vs to generatethe image information of a recorded image, which is an image of thevirtual space Vs according to these positions and orientations (stepS41). More specifically, the image generator 11 b arranges the avatar250A and the weapon 260A in accordance with the positions andorientations of the HMD 20A and the operation device 30A and arrangesthe avatar 250B and the weapon 260B in accordance with the positions andorientations of the HMD 20B and the operation device 30B to generate theimage information of the virtual space Vs in which the directions ofthese avatars 250 are viewed from the position of the camera. The imageinformation of the generated recorded image is included in the playerdata 12 b and stored in the data memory 12 (step S42).

The image generator 11 b may change the configuration of the recordedimage in accordance with the degree of accomplishment of the game by theplayer, such as scores obtained by the player. For example, the imagegenerator 11 b may form the recorded image as if the avatar 250 lookspleased when the degree of accomplishment is high and may form therecorded image as if the avatar 250 looks sad when the degree ofaccomplishment is low.

Afterwards, the image generator 11 b outputs provided information, whichis used to provide the recorded image to an external terminal, to thepublic display 50 (step S43). Based on the input from the gameprocessing device 10, the public display 50 displays the providedinformation (step S44).

The provided information is, for example, the URL of a website fromwhich the image information of the recorded image is downloadable. It ispreferable that the provided information be represented by, for example,a two-dimensional barcode readable by a mobile terminal such as asmartphone carried by the player. The image information of the recordedimage is saved in a web server that establishes the website. The webserver may be a device of the game processing device 10 or may differfrom the game processing device 10. When the web server differs from thegame processing device 10, the image information of the recorded imageis transmitted from the game processing device 10 to the web server andstored in the web server in a downloadable manner.

The player can use the recorded image as a record of participation inthe game by downloading the image information of the recorded imagethrough the provided information. This makes the player more satisfiedwith the game and more motivated to participate in the game again.Additionally, for example, if the recorded image is publicized by theplayer through an SNS or the like, the effect of advertising the game isobtained. This increases the number of users who wish to participate inthe game.

Further, in addition to the provided information, the image informationof the recorded image may be output from the game processing device 10to the public display 50 so that the recorded image is displayed on thepublic display 50. Such a configuration allows a user located around theplay space Rs to view the recorded image. Thus, such a user is moremotivated to participate in the game.

The device to which the provided information or the image information ofthe recorded image is output from the game processing device 10 is notlimited to the public display 50. The device simply needs to be aterminal that can be used by the player in or near the play space Rs,for example, the assist terminal 60.

[Hardware Configuration]

The hardware configuration of the game processing device 10 of thepresent embodiment will now be described with reference to FIG. 18.

FIG. 18 shows an example of the game processing device 10. The gameprocessing device 10 is, for example, a desktop personal computer, alaptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a server, or other types ofcomputers. The components and the connection relationship of thecomponents shown in FIG. 18 are just exemplary.

The game processing device 10 includes circuitry such as a processor 501and a memory 502. Further, the game processing device 10 includescircuitry such as a northbridge 503, a southbridge 504, and a storagedevice 505. The processor 501, the memory 502, and the bridges 503 and504 are mutually connected by various buses 506 or other such circuits.The processor 501 is in charge of game progress and outputs an image tothe HMD 20 and the like, which are connected to the northbridge 503. Thegame processing device 10 may include multiple processors and multiplememories.

The memory 502 is connected to the northbridge 503 and outputsinformation related to game processing to the processor 501. Forexample, the memory 502 is a volatile storage device or a non-volatilestorage device. Further, the memory 502 is a storage device or acomputer readable medium such as a magnetic or optical disk.

The storage device 505 is connected to the southbridge 504 and outputsinformation related to game processing to the processor 501. Forexample, the storage device 505 is, for example, a hard disk device, anoptical disk device, a flash memory, or other storage devices.

The northbridge 503 is connected to the HMD 20. The southbridge 504 isconnected to an expansion port 507. The expansion port 507 may includevarious types of communication ports (for example, USB, Bluetooth(registered trademark), Ethernet (registered trademark), and wirelessEthernet) and may be connected to an input/output device such as akeyboard, mouse, and network device.

In the above configuration, the processor 501, the memory 502, and thenorthbridge 503 correspond to the game controller 11, and the memory 502and the storage device 505 correspond to the data memory 12.

As described above, the present embodiment has the following advantages.

(1) The condition of producing the special effects in the game includesa condition in which the distance between the first position, whichmoves in the virtual space Vs in accordance with the position of thefirst player, and the second position, which moves in the virtual spaceVs in accordance with the position of the second player, is within thepredetermined range. Thus, the first player and the second player canproduce the special effects, which may be a purpose of each player inthe game, by cooperating with each other so as to satisfy the conditionin which the distance between the first position and the second positionis within the predetermined range. This allows multiple players tocooperate in playing the game.

In particular, the operation for setting the distance between the firstposition and the second position to be within the predetermined range isthe operation for changing the distance between the first position andthe second position in the real space. This deepens the correlationbetween the cooperation of the two players in the virtual space Vs andthe mutual operation relationship of the two players in the play spaceRs during the cooperation. This allows for gameplay taking advantage ofthe operation of the two players being detectable and thus increases theoriginality of the game.

(2) When the position of the first player and the position of the secondplayer are determined based on the information detected with the HMDs20, the distance between the first position and the second position inthe virtual space Vs changes depending on the positions of the heads ofthe first player and the second player. Thus, as compared to when thefirst position and the second position move with reference to thepositions of the hands of the players, the first player and the secondplayer are required to move to a large extent including the torso partsin order to satisfy the conditions of producing the special effects.This increases the reality for the players to cooperate in playing thegame.

When the position of the first player and the position of the secondplayer are determined based on the information detected with theoperation devices 30, the distance between the first position and thesecond position in the virtual space Vs changes depending on thepositions of the hands of the first player and the second player. Thus,as compared to when the first position and the second position move withreference to the positions of the heads of the players, the first playerand the second player are required to move to a small extent in order tosatisfy the conditions of producing the special effects. This reducesthe movement ranges of the players and also reduces the size requiredfor the play space Rs where the players perform operation.

(3) The HMDs 20 display the range indicators 280, which allow fordetermination of whether or not the distance between the first positionand the second position is within a predetermined range. This allows theplayers to ascertain whether or not the distance between the firstposition and the second position is within the predetermined range.Thus, the convenience for the players improves when cooperating to playthe game in order to satisfy the conditions of producing the specialeffects.

(4) When an object encircling the first position and an objectencircling the second position are displayed on the HMD 20 as the rangeindicators 280, the players can intuitively ascertain whether or not thedistance between the first position and the second position is withinthe predetermined range.

(5) When the conditions for producing the special effects include acondition in which a predetermined operation is detected with at leastone of the operation device 30A and the operation device 30B, the playereasily controls the timing of producing the special effects. This allowsthe players to easily adjust the timing of producing the special effectsas the game progresses and thus increases the convenience for theplayers.

(6) When the conditions for producing the special effects include acondition in which at least one of the first player and the secondplayer has accomplished a predetermined task in the game, the burden onthe players required to produce the special effects is increased. Thus,the production of the special effects is highly worthwhile. Thisincreases the motivation for the players to play the game as a purposeof producing the special effects.

(7) In the game implemented in the virtual space Vs, the first playerand the second player attack an enemy that appears in the virtual spaceVs. If the special effects increase the attack power of the attack, theproduction of the special effects is highly worthwhile. This increasesthe motivation for the players to play the game as a purpose ofproducing the special effects.

(8) The first position is where the virtual point 100A is projected onthe horizontal plane, the second position is where the virtual point100B is projected on the horizontal plane, the initial position of thefirst position and the initial position of the second position are setto positions set in advance, and the distance between the initialpositions differs from the distance between the HMD 20A and the HMD 20Bin the real space when the game starts. In this case, the distancebetween the players in the play space Rs can be differentiated from thedistance between the first position and the second position in thevirtual space Vs. The length relationship of these distances is set inaccordance with the operation required by the players in the game. Thisprevents the players from unintentionally contacting with each other andmoving out of the play space Rs.

(9) The first permission region MsA, in which the first position ispermitted to move, and the second permission region MsB, in which thesecond position is permitted to move, are set such that they are spacedapart from each other and the distance between these regions is lessthan or equal to the reference distance, which is a condition forproducing the special effects. The HMD 20A displays the region indicator270 indicating the first permission region MsA, and the HMD 20B displaysthe region indicator 270 indicating the second permission region MsB.Such a configuration allows the players to perceive the movementpermission region and guides the players so that the players move withinpredetermined regions. Since the first permission region MsA and thesecond permission region MsB are spaced apart from each other, theplayers are prevented from unintentionally contacting with each other.Further, since the distance between the first permission region MsA andthe second permission region MsB is less than or equal to the referencedistance, the players can cooperate to play the game to produce thespecial effects in such regions.

(10) When the first position is located in the first permission regionMsA and the first position is located in the region where the distanceto the outer edge of the first permission region MsA is less than orequal to a predetermined distance, the HMD 20A displays the regionindicator 270. In such a configuration, when the first position islocated proximate to the outer edge of the first permission region MsA,i.e., when the player is likely to move out of the movement permissionregion, the HMD 20A displays the region indicator 270. Thus, the playercan be reminded of the position of the player approaching the outer edgeof the movement permission region. Further, as compared to the case inwhich the HMD 20A always displays the region indicator 270, the field ofview of the player in the virtual space Vs is prevented from remainingobstructed by the region indicator 270.

(11) When a tubular object encircling the initial position of the firstposition and extending in the up-down direction in the virtual space Vsis displayed on the HMD 20A as the region indicator 270, the player canintuitively ascertain the first permission region MsA.

[Modifications]

Each of the above embodiments may be modified as described below.

The second effect produced when one or more conditions including thesecond condition are satisfied is not limited to the effect ofadvantageously performing the attack on the target object 210 and simplyneeds to be a special effect produced in the game. In other words, thespecial effect does not have to be produced in association with anattack and simply needs to be produced when one or more conditionsincluding the second condition are satisfied. The special effect may bean effect for advantageously progressing the game from a perspectivedifferent from the attack on an enemy, for example, recovery of thehealth value of the player or an effect for increasing the renderingeffect in the game by changing, for example, the type or color of theobject located in the virtual space Vs and sounds produced from the HMD20 or the like. In short, when one or more conditions including acondition in which the distance between the first position and thesecond position is within the predetermined range are satisfied, thegame processing device 10 simply needs to produce the special effect inthe game.

Further, the special effect does not have to be visually reflected onthe configuration of the virtual space Vs, i.e., does not have to bereflected on the image displayed on the HMD 20. In this case, thespecial effect may be produced by generating sounds from a sound outputof the HMD 20 or vibration produced by rotation of a vibration motor ofthe operation device 30, by changing various parameters stored in thedata memory 12 of the game processing device 10, and the like.

When at least one of the simultaneous attack and the combination attackcan be performed, multiple players can cooperate to play the game. Thevarious preliminary settings, the setting of the game contents that arenot related to the simultaneous attack or the combination attack, andthe process after the game ends, which are described in the aboveembodiment, may be omitted. For example, the configuration related tothe avatar 250, i.e., the generation of the face part of the avatar 250using the face image of the player and the capturing of a photo of theavatar 250, is not required from the perspective of allowing multipleplayers to cooperate in playing the game.

In the above disclosure, the game system implements the game in whichthe player shoots the target object 210. Instead, the game implementedby the game system may be applied to other games such as an explorationgame, a card game, a racing game, a fighting game, a simulation game,and a roll-playing game. The special effects, which are produced whenone or more conditions including the condition in which the distancebetween the first position and the second position is within thepredetermined range are satisfied, simply need to be set in accordancewith the contents of the game and, as described above, simply need to bean effect for advantageously progressing the game, an effect forincreasing the rendering effect in the game, and the like.

In the above disclosure, the first player and the second player areactual players. Instead, any one of the first player and the secondplayer may be set as a character that is not operated by an actualplayer, i.e., a non-player character (NPC).

The HMD 20 serving as the mounted display may include a housing thatincorporates the information processor 21, the tracking informationdetector 22, and the display 23. Alternatively, a multi-functionalmobile terminal such as a smartphone may be accommodated in a dedicatedhousing in a removable manner and used as the mounted display. That is,the multi-functional mobile terminal may have the functions of theinformation processor 21 and the display 23. The multi-functional mobileterminal may have the function of the tracking information detector 22.Instead, various sensors arranged in the housing may have the functionof the tracking information detector 22. The multi-functional mobileterminal communicates with the game processing device 10 in a wired orwireless manner.

In the above disclosure, the HMD 20 displays, on the display 23, animage in which the influence of parallax or the like is taken intoaccount. Instead, the display 23 may be formed by a single display paneland may display an image in which the influence of parallax or the likeis not taken into account.

In the above disclosure, the game system implements the game played bythe first player wearing the HMD 20 and the second player wearing theHMD 20 in cooperation. Instead, the game system may implement a gameplayed in cooperation by the first player wearing the HMD 20 and thesecond player using an installed-type game dedicated device, i.e., aconsole game. The second player views the image of the virtual spacedisplayed on the display connected to the game dedicated device. In thiscase, the second player changes the second position by operating anoperation portion (switch, lever, button, or the like) arranged on thegame dedicated device. In the same manner as the above embodiment, thefirst position changes when the first player moves the HMD 20A or theoperation device 30A. When the distance between the first position andthe second position is within the predetermined range, for example, thespecial effect can be produced. As another option, the game system mayimplement a game played in cooperation by the first player wearing theHMD 20 and the second player using a multi-functional mobile terminalsuch as a smartphone. The second player views the image of the virtualspace displayed on the display of the multi-functional mobile terminal.In this case, the second position changes when the second playeroperates a touch panel or the like. In the same manner as the aboveembodiment, the first position changes when the first player moves theHMD 20A or the operation device 30A. When the distance between the firstposition and the second position is within the predetermined range, forexample, the special effect can be produced.

In the above disclosure, when the distance between the first positionand the second position is within the predetermined range, the effect ofadvantageously performing an attack in the game can be produced.Instead, when the distance between the first position and the secondposition is within the predetermined range, the first player and thesecond player may be able to communicate with each other. For example,the first player and the second player may be able to have aconversation in the virtual space. Alternatively, when the distancebetween the first position and the second position is within thepredetermined range, the parameters associated with at least one of thefirst player and the second player may be changed. For example, thefavorability rating for the second player and the defense ability may beincreased.

In the above disclosure, when the distance between the first positionand the second position is within the predetermined range, the specialeffect can be produced in the game. Instead of or in addition to this,when the distance between the first position and the second position iswithin the predetermined range, the execution of a predeterminedactivity in the game may be prohibited or limited. For example, when thedistance between the first position and the second position is withinthe predetermined range, the action performed based on the operation ofmoving the operation device 30 by the player may be restricted frombeing performed. This guides the players not to execute the operation ofmoving the operation device 30 and thus prevents the players fromcontacting with each other when the distance between the players isclose. Further, the special effect may be produced when the distancebetween the first position and the second position is within a firstpredetermined range, and a predetermined action may be prohibited whenthe distance between the first position and the second position iswithin a second predetermined range, which is smaller than a firstpredetermined range. Alternatively, when the distance between the firstposition and the second position is within the predetermined range, thefunctions in the game may be activated or deactivated. The functions inthe game may be associated with the players or associated withpredetermined objects in the virtual space Vs.

In the above disclosure, the game system implements the game played incooperation by the first player wearing the HMD 20 and the second playerwearing the HMD 20. Instead, the game system may implement a game usinga multi-functional mobile terminal for the game to progress by touchingthe screen or operating an operation portion such as a button. In thiscase, the positions of the first player and the second player aredetermined using a position detection sensor incorporated in themulti-functional mobile terminal or using a position detection sensorpossessed or accompanied by the user. The position detection sensor maybe at least one of a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, and ageomagnetic sensor incorporated in the multi-functional mobile terminalor may be a sensor using a global positioning system (GPS) or othersatellite positioning systems. Further, when the game is played indoors,a tracking assist device 40 arranged indoors may be used. The image ofthe virtual space Vs is output to the display of the multi-functionalmobile terminal. In addition, the action for the object in the virtualspace Vs is executed by operating an operating portion such as a touchpanel display or a switch of the multi-functional mobile terminal. Thefirst position in the virtual space Vs moves in accordance with theposition of the multi-functional mobile terminal of the first player,and the second position in the virtual space Vs moves in accordance withthe position of the multi-functional mobile terminal of the secondplayer. When the distance between the first position and the secondposition in the virtual space Vs is within the predetermined range, thespecial effect is produced. In such type of a game, a multi-play gameplayed by multiple players in cooperation already exists. However, whenthe relative positional relationship in the real world of the playerscan be used, the originality of the game increases as compared to theconventional multi-play game. In the configuration in which the specialeffect and the like are produced when the distance between the positionof the first player and the position of the second player is within thepredetermined range, the game processing program, the game processingmethod, and the game processing device that allow multiple players tocooperate to play the game based on the relative positional relationshipof the players can be provided.

In the above disclosure, the position and orientation of the operationdevice 30 is detected through the tracking information detector 32.Alternatively or additionally, the tracking information detector 32 maybe worn on the hand or arm of the player, and the position of the handor arm of the player may be directly detected by the trackinginformation detector 32.

The tracking information detector 32 may perform a process to detect theposition of the tracking information detector 32 by cooperating with thetracking assist device 40.

In the above disclosure, the system for detecting the position of theHMD 20 comprises the HMD 20 and a sensor external to the HMD 20. The HMD20 and the external sensor cooperate with each other to detect theposition of the HMD 20. Alternatively or additionally, an “inside-out”system may be used in which a sensor provided on the HMD 20 scans thereal space and sends its positions to the game processing device 10.Also, the system may be a stand-alone system in which functionalityperformed by the game processing device 10 may be provided on the HMD20. Furthermore, in place of the optical system comprising alight-emitting device and a light-receiving device, a camera system maybe used in which the camera identifies the HMD 20 or the camera providedon the HMD 20 detects a predetermined position in the real space. In thesame manner, the system for detecting the position of the operationdevice 30 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, at leastone of an inside-out system and an outside-in system, or a stand-alonesystem that determines the position of the operation device 30 withoutcooperating with another device. Also, the system may be at least one ofan optical system or a camera system.

The game controller 11 is not limited to one that performs softwareprocessing on all processes executed by itself. For example, the gamecontroller 11 may be equipped with a dedicated hardware circuit (e.g.,application specific integrated circuit: ASIC) that performs hardwareprocessing on at least some of the processes to be executed by itself.That is, the game controller 11 may be configured as circuitryincluding 1) one or more processors that operate in accordance with acomputer program (software), 2) one or more dedicated hardware circuitsthat execute at least some of the various processes, or 3) combinationsthereof. The processor includes a CPU and memories such as a RAM and aROM, and the memory stores program codes or instructions configured tocause the CPU to execute the processing. The memories, that is, computerreadable media, include any type of media that are accessible bygeneral-purpose computers and dedicated computers.

To the extent that the above descriptions may be considered to beorganized into separate embodiments, such organization is merely forease in understanding the inventive concepts described herein. However,the features described herein are combinable across the embodimentswithout limitation as one of ordinary skill would recognize.

The technical ideas derived from the above embodiment and themodifications include the following supplements.

Supplement 1

A game processing program for a computer, the computer causing a virtualspace where a game is performed to be displayed on a first terminal usedby a first player and a second terminal used by a second player, theprogram causing the computer to:

move a first position in the virtual space in accordance with a positionof the first player based on an output of a sensor that determines theposition of the first player;

move a second position in the virtual space based on operation of thesecond player; and

include, in a condition for producing a special effect in the game, acondition in which a distance between the first position and the secondposition is within a predetermined range.

Supplement 2

A game processing program for a computer, the computer causing a virtualspace where a game is performed to be displayed on a first terminal usedby a first player and a second terminal used by a second player, theprogram causing the computer to:

move a first position in the virtual space in accordance with a positionof the first player based on an output of a sensor that determines theposition of the first player;

move a second position in the virtual space in accordance with aposition of the second player based on an output of a sensor thatdetermines the position of the second player; and

include, in a condition for producing a special effect in the game, acondition in which a distance between the first position and the secondposition is within a predetermined range.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumthat stores computer-readable instructions for processing a game, thecomputer-readable instructions, when executed by circuitry, causes thecircuitry to perform a method comprising: controlling a first mounteddisplay worn by a first player to display a virtual space in associationwith a first virtual position in the virtual space; controlling a secondmounted display worn by a second player to display the virtual space inassociation with a second virtual position in the virtual space; settingan initial position of the first virtual position and an initialposition of the second virtual position to positions set in advance, adistance between the initial positions differing from a distance betweenthe first mounted display and the second mounted display in a real spacewhen the game starts; determining a position of the first player in thereal space based on an output of a first sensor; moving the firstvirtual position in accordance with the position of the first player;determining a position of the second player in the real space based onan output of a second sensor; moving the second virtual position inaccordance with the position of the second player; and when a conditionis satisfied, producing a special effect in the game, wherein thecondition includes a condition in which a distance between the firstvirtual position and the second virtual position is within apredetermined range.
 2. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumaccording to claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, whenexecuted by the circuitry, cause the circuitry to further perform amethod comprising: determining the position of the first player based oninformation detected with the first mounted display; and determining theposition of the second player based on information detected with thesecond mounted display.
 3. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumaccording to claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions, whenexecuted by the circuitry, cause the circuitry to further perform amethod comprising: determining the position of the first player based oninformation detected with a first operation device, which is operated bythe first player; and determining the position of the second playerbased on information detected with a second operation device, which isoperated by the second player.
 4. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium according to claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions,when executed by the circuitry, cause the circuitry to further perform amethod comprising controlling the first mounted display and the secondmounted display to display an indicator that allows for determination ofwhether or not the distance between the first virtual position and thesecond virtual position is within the predetermined range.
 5. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 4, whereinthe indicator includes an object encircling the first virtual positionof the virtual space, which is displayed on the first mounted display,and an object encircling the second virtual position of the virtualspace, which is displayed on the second mounted display.
 6. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1, whereinthe condition includes a condition in which a predetermined operation isdetected with at least one of the first operation device, which isoperated by the first player, and the second operation device, which isoperated by the second player, when the distance between the firstvirtual position and the second virtual position is within thepredetermined range.
 7. The non-transitory computer-readable mediumaccording to claim 1, wherein the condition includes a condition inwhich at least one of the first player and the second player hasaccomplished a predetermined task in the game.
 8. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein the predeterminedrange is a range less than or equal to a first distance, a firstmovement permission region and a second movement permission region arespaced apart from each other and a distance between the first movementpermission region and the second movement permission region is less thanor equal to the first distance, the first virtual position is permittedto move in the first movement permission region as the first playermoves, and the initial position of the first virtual position is locatedin the center of the first movement permission region, and the secondvirtual position is permitted to move in the second movement permissionregion as the second player moves, and the initial position of thesecond virtual position is located in the center of the second movementpermission region, and wherein the computer-readable instructions, whenexecuted by the circuitry, cause the circuitry to further perform amethod comprising: controlling the first mounted display to display afirst region indicator that indicates the first movement permissionregion; and controlling the second mounted display to display a secondregion indicator that indicates the second movement permission region.9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 8,wherein the computer-readable instructions, when executed by thecircuitry, cause the circuitry to further perform a method comprisingcontrolling the first mounted display to display the first regionindicator when the first virtual position is located in the firstmovement permission region and a distance from the first virtualposition to an outer edge of the first movement permission region isless than or equal to a predetermined distance.
 10. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium according to claim 8, wherein the first regionindicator includes a tubular object displayed on the first mounteddisplay, wherein the object encircles the initial position of the firstvirtual position and extends in a vertical direction of the virtualspace.
 11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according toclaim 1, wherein the game is a game in which the first player and thesecond player attack an object located in the virtual space, and thespecial effect is an effect for increasing an attack power of theattack.
 12. A method for processing a game, comprising: controlling, bycircuitry, a first mounted display worn by a first player to display avirtual space in association with a first virtual position in thevirtual space; controlling, by the circuitry, a second mounted displayworn by a second player to display the virtual space in association witha second virtual position in the virtual space; setting, by thecircuitry, an initial position of the first virtual position and aninitial position of the second virtual position to positions set inadvance, a distance between the initial positions differing from adistance between the first mounted display and the second mounteddisplay in a real space when the game starts; determining, by thecircuitry, a position of the first player in the real space based on anoutput of a first sensor; moving, by the circuitry, the first virtualposition in accordance with the position of the first player;determining, by the circuitry, a position of the second player in thereal space based on an output of a second sensor; moving, by thecircuitry, the second virtual position in accordance with the positionof the second player; and when a condition is satisfied, producing, bythe circuitry, a special effect in the game, wherein the conditionincludes a condition in which a distance between the first virtualposition and the second virtual position is within a predeterminedrange.
 13. A device for processing a game, comprising: circuitryconfigured to: control a first mounted display worn by a first player todisplay a virtual space in association with a first virtual position inthe virtual space; control a second mounted display worn by a secondplayer to display the virtual space in association with a second virtualposition in the virtual space; set an initial position of the firstvirtual position and an initial position of the second virtual positionto positions set in advance, a distance between the initial positionsdiffering from a distance between the first mounted display and thesecond mounted display in a real space when the game starts; determine aposition of the first player in the real space based on an output of afirst sensor; move the first virtual position in accordance with theposition of the first player; determine a position of the second playerin the real space based on an output of a second sensor, move the secondvirtual position in accordance with the position of the second player;and when a condition is satisfied, produce a special effect in the game,wherein the condition includes a condition in which a distance betweenthe first virtual position and the second virtual position is within apredetermined range.